Measuring trap chamber with barometric cutoff



THOMASA L. TlTus INI/miran.l

Sept. 24,1946. l1'. L. T11-us A uEAsURING TRAP cHAuBER WITH BARoM'ETRIc cUToFF Filed llarch l0, 1945 Patented Sept. 24, 1946` UNI-TEDSSTATES PATE-NT 'OFFICE H u y k,2*,408456l u MEASURING TRAP CHAMBER WIr-i1 l BARQMETRICCUTFF I Thomas L. Titus, Cheyenne, Wyo.;assignor-to The r.Wyott Manufacturingr Company', Cheyenne,k

Wyo., a corporation of AWyoming n l v ,'Applianonmarh 10, 1945.,..sen1 N9. ns1-.97.9

1 I his invention relateslto improvements in liq uid dispensing devices.

It is the object of this invention to produce al simple, substantial and eiiicient device for dispensing liquids in predetermined quantities.

y,Another object of this invention is to produce a device that will operate quickly an'dnwhich will be of such construction that the quantityof liquid dispensed will be very accurately measured.

Another object of this invention is to producey a device for the purpose indicated which cannot be used for abstracti'ngemore than the measured quantity of liquid atleach operation.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a compactdevice that shall be capable .of being manufactured in apleasing and ornamental form. l

, Having called attention to the various objects of the invention, the invention will now be described in detail and for this purpose reference will `be had t the accompanying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated'in'its preferred form, and in which:

`,Figure 1 is a vertical diameter section taken on line I-I, Figure k2; i

' Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 isa fragmentary section similar to that shown in Figure l, but shows the parts to an enlarged scale and a valve in sealing position;v

Figure 4 is a fragmentarysection similar to that shown in Figure 3, but shows the valve in fullyV opened position;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section intended to illustratein a clear manner the lost motion means which will be hereinafter referred to; Iand Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, but shows a slight modification.

In the drawing reference numeral I Il designates a support which may be of any construction; at the end of the support is a body I I which, inthe drawinahas been shown `as formed integral with the support Iii, but which maybe, and preferably is, made from a separate piece secured to the support in any suitable manner. The under surface of body I0 has .a circular depressionl2 that forms 'avalve chamber. The upper Wall of the. body has "a, .frustoconical depression lI3 in its upper surface and from the vertex ofthis depression anllf opening LI4 extends through the wall ,and into communication Vwith the valve chamber. A fill tube I5 is( threadedly mounted in` opening I!! and projects downwardly into the valve'chamber. 13er `rotating the pipe relative to 3 Claims. (Cl. Z22-437) tlinzbsidy. the lposition 2 of the lower end thereof can be adjusted.

Securedto theupper end of pipe I5 isha cup IS whichxmay be made from rubber, eitherv natural or .sy-theti'c, or any other suitable material. The neck Il, off .the bottle or of any other liquid container, is inserted into cup I6 andthe wall of theliatter forms an airtight sea1 about the bottle neck, as clearlyshown in Figure 1.

A vent I'ex'tends' through the upper wall of the body ILI. The outer vsurface ofthe valve chamber wall is threaded-fas indicated at I9. An end closure yZIis held in place below the valve chamber wall byrn'eans ofua threaded sleeve whose lower end has an inwardly extending flange 22 that engages in a corresponding rabbet in the closure. The end closure has a downwardly extending tubular .hub 23. Positioned at the lower end of the valve 4chamber Wallis a flexible diaphgram 211 which may ber made of rubber or of any other flexible material, either some suitable plastic or one ofthe many so-called synthetic rubbers. This diaphragm must be quite flexible and elastic and the material mustbe selected .so that it will not be Yaffected bythe liquid being dispensed.

In the drawing, diaphragm 2'4 has been shown* as of considerable thickness, but this is merely for conveniencein drafting, and `'explaining vthe invention. 'Ihediaphragmr should` b'e asthin as consistent .with strength and the contemplated mode of operation. Extending through the hub 23 is a discharge tube 25 whose lower end is provided with rlaterally Yextending wings 26. The upper end. of .thisltulbe isclosedand has a threaded extension or stud 21 for a purpose whichwill presently appear. Directly beneath the upper end wall of ,the dischargerftube, there is a groove 281er the reception of the Aedge of the diaphragm 24. vThe ldiaphragm is 4provided with a central openingthat is `smaller than the bottom diameter of groove 28 so that when itis positioned as shown in Figures F2, 3 and 4, the tension exerted by the diaphragm .willform a tight seal'between it and the dispensing tube. The outer edge of .thevdiaphragmfis vclamped between the lower end of the valve chamjb'er'wall andthe upper surface of the end closure as lclearly shown in the drawing. Se,-

is provided with a plurality of openings 35 positioned directly above groove 28.

It will be observed from the drawing that the weight of the discharge tube and the cup are so related to the diaphragm and other parts that they will normally assume the position shown in Figures l and 3 with the flange 3l resting on the upper surface of the diaphragm. Since the diaphragm is very flexible and. quite thin, the weight of these parts will bend it downwardly into engagement with the concave upper surface of ange 33, as shown most clearly in Figure 5 When the parts are in normal position-,like that valve. The weight of the liquid in the cup will, of course, be counterbalanced or made ineffective when the cup is surrounded by liquid as in Figure 1.

In the above description a lost motion connection has been shown and described which is simple and effective for the purpose under consideration, but it is to be understood that this is Vmerely illustrative of means for this purpose and vthat it may be replaced by some equivalent lost motion construction that will effect a seal of the intake tube before the valve is opened and a closing Yof the valve before the intake is unsealed,

, thus assuring that no liquid will be supplied to shown in Figures l and 3, the plane 35 of the upper edge of the cup wall is spaced a short distance from the lower end of the fill tube l5, as shown in Figure 1. to the fact that the diaphragm is bent downwardly into engagement with the concave surface '3d when the weight of the parts rest on the diaphragm the seal between flange 3l and the upper surface of the diaphragm will not be broken until the cup and the flange 3l have moved upwardly a distanceat least equal to the distance between plane 3B and the bottom of pipe I5. This construction forms a lost motion connection that permits the fill tube and cup to be moved a short distance before the seal is broken. The purpose of this is to effect a seal between the liquid in the cup and the lower end of the fill tube before the seal is broken between flange 3l and the diaphragm. As soon as the cup moves up to a position where plane 3B is in engagement with the lower end of tube I5, or slightly above it, no liquid can escape from the sealed container and therefore when the parts' aremoved upwardly in the position shown in Figure 4, the liquid in the valve chamber is free to escape, and during this escape period no further liquid will be supplied. When the measured quantity of liquid has been discharged and operator relieves the Vpressure on the lower end of the discharge tube, the latter falls, due to the action of gravity and before the plane 36 passes below the end of thell tube l5, a seal is effected betweenthe diaphragm and flange 3|. The construction just described assures that no liquid can-be surreptitiously removed by the expedient of carefully and slowly moving the valve to closed position,

' In Figure 6 a slightly modified form of construction has been shown in which the flange 3|, instead of being made entirely of metal is made in part of a resilient flexible material Bla which bends when it comes in contact with the diaphragm and thus gives a lost motion eect similar to that obtained by the construction shown in Figure 5.

This device is intended to be connected with an automatic counting mechanism that indicates the number of times the discharge valve has been moved upwardly and therefore an operator will c be charged with the total quantity of liquid, even if the valve chamber is only partly full at the time the valve is opened. Y

Thefeature just described is a safety feature of great importance where expensive liquids are being dispensed as it discourages attempts to cheat and in fact makes' it impossible to do so.

It will be observed that added to the weight-of the discharge tube and the cup is the weight of the liquid in the cup which serves to set It will be observed that due the lvalveV chamber, the wall of the valve chamber at any time when the seal between flange 3| and the diaphragm is broken.

Attention isagaincalled to the fact that the diaphragm has been shown to an exaggerated thickness and it is to be understood that it is to be as thin as can practically be used so as to afford as little resistance towards flexure in response to the weight of the parts as possible.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A device for dispensing liquid in measured quantities, comprising, a body having a valve chamber, provided with a fill opening and a vent in its upper wall, a ll tube in the fill opening,

the fill tube proiectingrbelow the upper wall surface of the chamber, an airtight liquid container above the body in communication with the ll tube through an opening in'its bottom, the lower end wall of the chamber having a discharge opening, a discharge tube extending through the discharge opening, the upper end of said tube being closed, a flexible diaphragm having a central opening through which the discharge tube extends, means for attaching the outer edge ofthe diaphragm to the wall of the the discharge tube having an opening above the diaphragm, a cup secured to the upper end of, the discharge tube, below the lower end of the 'fill tube, the under A surface of the cup having an annular flange posientering the container until the flange returns to sealing position.

2. A device for dispensing liquid in measured quantities, comprising, a body having a valve chamber provided with a fill opening in its upper wall, an airtight liquid container positioned above the body, the opening in the upper wall being formed in part by a fill tube that projects down'- wardly into the valve chamber, the container communicating with the chamber through the ll tube, the lower wall of the chamber having a discharge opening, a discharge valve comprising a discharge tube having its upper end closed, extending through the discharge opening, a flexible diaphragm having a central opening for the reception of the discharge tube and connected therewith by a-watertight seal, the wall of the discharge tube having openings positioned above the diaphragm, means for effecting a seal between the wall of the chamber and the outer edge of the diaphragm, and a cup connected with the upper end o-f the discharge tube, the cup;

of the parts being such that when the cup and discharge tube are supported from the diaphragm, the lower end of the ll tube will be a short distance above the plane'of the upper end of the cup, the upper wall of the valve chamber having a vent.

3. A device for dispensing liquid inv measured quantities from a sealed container having a discharge opening in its under side, comprising, in combination, a body having a valve chamber in its under surface, removable end closure for the chamber, the end closure having an opening, a discharge tube in said opening, the upperend of the tube being closed, ay cup supported from the upper end of the tube, a flexible diaphragm extendingvfrom the tube to the Wall of the valve of the discharge tube having at least one open-v ing positioned above the diaphragm, the upper wall of the valve chamber having an Yopening positioned within the area of the cup, a fill p-ipe threadedly engaging the wall of the last named opening, the interior of the sealed container being in communication with the valve chamber through the ll pipe, the under surface of the cup having an annular flange for engagingY the .upper surface of the diaphragm, the parts being so related that when the cup and discharge tube are supported from the diaphragm, the top of the cup will be a short distance below the lower end of the ll tube, and will be above the lower end of the fill tube before the seal between the flange on the cup and the diaphragm is broken, whereby no liquid will ow from the sealed container while the valve is open.

THOMAS L. 'IITUS. 

